Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Transactions....

Hey! Check out the Padres! Many web sites, (including this one) let the Padres have it for only carrying a budget of 35 million for the entire team. And look at this, they are first in the NL West. Well, hold on a minute. This is more of a case of the rest of the division not doing well, than the Padres playing great baseball. The Dodgers completely folder so far this season. The Rockies can't seem to get into the grove, and if the Giants could find a fifth starter, they would have the division. In a way, this might be the worst thing for Padres management. if the Pods are in the hunt come June, how would they justify trading Adrian Gonzalez.

In another example of the brilliance of the Mets organization....wait for it....they are still paying millions to Bobby Bonilla. Yes the same Bonilla who signed a gargantuan contract and averaged 19 HRs and a .270 BA. in numbers that only make sense to the Mets...well, read this:

"According to a report on CNN.com, which was confirmed by a source with knowledge of the team’s finances. When the Mets waived Bonilla in 2000, they still owed him $5.9 million, according to the report. Although the numbers don’t seem to add up, CNN reported that the Mets will pay Bonilla $1,193,248.20 every July 1 from 2011 to 2035."

But...wait......I don't....Oh, forget it.

Let me just say how glad I am the Yankees listened to me and didn't sign Derek Lowe a few seasons back. All he's done since the Braves signed him to a fat contract is who his age. He has lost speed and his slider is nowhere near as effective as it was when he was younger. His ERA since the Braves signed him has been 4.77 (and climbing) and his WHIP is somewhere in the vicinity of 1.6. Ouch. So glad the Yanks took A.J. Burnett over Lowe, who a lot of people wanted more.

Give San Francisco a lot of credit. Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati shore up a leaky offensive line and help Alex Smith and Frank Gore. Taylor Mays could be a hard-hitting and good safety and Navorro Bowman is a solid Penn State linebacker. That said, they are asking plenty from head coach, Mike Singletary: Davis has a track record of dogging it. Iupati is a offensive holding machine.Bowman has a history of pot use, fighting and showing up small in big games. And Mays is a physical freak who hasn't translated his ability onto the field. The potential is high for all these guys; but the bust potential is high as well.

Everybody was so down on the Spurs, thinking they'd get swept in the playoffs. And yet here they sit up 3-1 against the Mavs. 2 reason. Any team with Duncan, Ginobili and Parker is in any series. But more...defense rules playoffs. And that's what the Spurs do. Ginobili is averaging 3 steals a game against the Mavs, and the Ghost of Antonio McDyess is averaging a little less than a block a game. Overall they are holding Dallas to 10 points less per game than the regular season. Sounds like they could easily take the series tonite.

Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal regarding the disparity between Top 100 high school recruits and getting drafted in the NFL draft. Fro 2003 to 2005, only, 17% of the top 100 football recruits were selected in the NFL's first two rounds. In 2002, out of the top 10 recruits, only Vince Young and Haloti Ngata were taken in the 1st round of the draft. Of the rest, only Chris Davis (only 7 recptions in his career) and Leon Washington are in the NFL. Only 4 out of 10, and only 2 in the first 2 rounds. Interesting stuff.

In 3 starts in AAA, Aroldis Chapman has a .60 ERA and has 18 Ks in 15 IP. Can't wait to see the Reds promote him and see if this guy becomes the LeBron James of baseball.

Whatever happened to Michael Beasley. Instead of turning into Amare Stoudemire, like everyone thought he would, he seems to heading the way of a less talented Derrick Coleman...or even a Billy Owens. 10 bucks the Heat try to trade him shortly.

And lastly, one of the things I love about minor league baseball are the wacky promotions they have. And here, in this photo gallery on ESPN, they have pictures of different promotions minor league squads have run. It's definitely worth a look. Love the Girl's Night Leopard print.

4 comments:

That is the worst thing that could happen to the RedSox, for the Padres to be anywhere near being competitive. Terrible division helps them for sure.

So you're saying CNN isn't long on mathematical skills?

Too bad for the Yankees, D.Lowe woulda looked great in the pinstripes. His ERA woulda been north of 5.50 for sure in the AL.

ok, on your comments about the top 100 recruits and 17% of them in 2003-2005 getting picked in top 2 rounds? - Each year there are only what 60 or so picks in the two rounds, right? So the 17% has a ceiling of 60/100 recruits so 17/60 =28% rate out of maximum possible. Take into account the amount of top 100 recruits that end up in jail and ...oh sorry, leave that for you to post another day...

I did not think Chapman would be good, I thought it was raw talent that would never materialize. Still might not but at least he is putting up big numbers somewhere. I agree, hope they bring him up soon.

Oh boy, that NL West division is weak. Anything to keep Gonzalez away from Boston this year is welcome.

No comment on the Bonilla situation except..."WHHHHHAAAAAAAATTTT?"

Great call on Lowe...he's about done.

SF's draft was risky, but I believe the risk is mitigated to an extent by the type of coach Singletary is. Would you slack off around him? His reputation may be enough to keep slackers motivated.

The spurs play better basketball than any other team in the NBA. If not for LeBron, Spurs games would be the only ones I would watch. In addition, the Mavs have very little heart. I am not surprised at all that the Spurs are winning that series.

Potential is almost impossible to measure in football. Just look at the draft...even after several years under a microscope in college, it's still hard to predict who will excel in the NFL.

Beasley is a little undersized, and it doesn't look like he has the work ethic to overcome it. It looks like he'll be a decent player, but that's about it unless he "gets religion."

Great promos...look up Rocky Mountain Oyster night for the Durham Bulls in the early '90's.

I put a lot of the Mavericks being down to the Spurs on Carlisle's coaching decisions. Playing the JJ Barea. Not playing their best defender, Marion. Playing Dampier too much who gets abused on both ends of the court. Burying Butler and Haywood on the bench in games 2,3, and 4.

That Bonilla thing is just shocking. It looks like he got himself a nice little retirement plan.

BE A PLAYER!

About Me

Born and raised in Brooklyn, I'm a sports junkie with an overabundance of opinions and a unused degree in writing. I decided to let vent with this blog and hope somebody out there would like to read what I write. Hope you enjoy, and if you do or don't let me know what you think.